


Apple of My Eye

by Blueyedgurl



Series: Fluffy one shots [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abandonment, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Marriage Proposal, Prompt Fic, Spooky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25697725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blueyedgurl/pseuds/Blueyedgurl
Summary: Ben asks Rey on a romantic get away to his family's apple orchard.  Rey finds the place a bit spooky and Ben struggles with finding the right time to ask Rey a very important question.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Fluffy one shots [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849954
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	Apple of My Eye

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on that video of the proposal gone wrong where the woman throws an apple at her fiance. Except as an introvert public proposals make me squeamish.

Rey and Ben had been together for 6 months when he had asked her to go away with him to his family’s estate. 

“There’s an apple orchard. We can have the fall apple orchard experience without having to deal with other people.” Ben was notoriously anti-people and really only went to crowded places because that’s what she wanted to do. It’d be their first trip away somewhere that didn’t involve other friends and family, it seemed like an important milestone for their relationship. 

So, two weeks later, on a Friday afternoon, she found herself curled up in the passenger seat with total control of the radio station and snacks while Ben drove the next 6 hours. She enjoyed the changes to the scenery and even made him pull over for the little roadside tourist traps. He humored her and even took her picture.

When he said estate, she was thinking something rather grand. Like some mansion with one of those hedge mazes and perfectly manicured shrubbery. She had met his mother, after all. But when they pulled up it was really just an old Victorian era farmhouse. So, it was a bit less intimidating than she was expecting. Although, she had to admit that it seemed out of place out in the country and not in some old neighborhood within walking distance of a downtown. 

It was beautiful but there was a spooky quality to it that Rey couldn’t quite put her finger on. She chose not to tell Ben this, not wanting to insult this beautiful thing that he seemed to enjoy so much. She had nothing to compare it to, so it wasn’t like they could commiserate about their family’s haunted mansions. 

“We should go for a walk in the apple orchard, they should be getting ripe, we can pick a few for eating.” He told her as they drove.

“How big is this orchard?” She’d asked, she could see the trees from where they had parked the car, next to the house.

“Not, very big, the apples only take up an acre. It’s just enough for the families of the caretakers, the rest goes to area homeless shelters and food banks. It really isn’t big enough to make a profit off or anything.”

“I take it you guys don’t come up here often.” He had mentioned a summer home up north but other than that he hadn’t talked about it much.

Ben shook his head. “No, we used to spend summers up here when I was a kid. So, now between my parents and myself we’re probably up here 6 times a year. For long weekends or the occasional holiday.”

“So how many people does it take to look after this place?” There seemed to be a lot of land to care for and the house was pretty big. 

They were walking along rows of raspberry bushes that looked well cared for but were well past their season. 

“One housekeeper, but she’s probably only in once a week unless we’re up here. And one person who takes care of the property and general maintenance for the buildings. They get paid decent and they get all the produce they want. It seems to work for them.” He shrugged.

“It’s pretty.” Rey said, taking in the trees. The air was scented lightly with the fragrance of apples.

They held hands as they walked, Ben seemed quieter than usual, but she just attributed it to the long car ride. 

When they walked out of the copse of trees Rey noticed that the sun had gone behind some dark clouds and that it looked rather ominous to the west.

“Oh. It looks like rain. Let’s go back.” Rey said, she didn’t mind rain but hated thunderstorms, Ben looked disappointed but agreed and walked with her back to the house, picking a few apples as they went. 

That evening Ben cooked while she unpacked a few of their things. She admired the view of the orchard from the bedroom window and made promises to herself to enjoy the clawfoot tub before they left Monday morning.

When she got back downstairs Ben was just hanging up the phone with a heavy sigh.

“Who was that?” She asked.

He looked at her a bit guilty and she felt herself brace against the lie he was about to tell.

“One of those scam calls.”

“Oh.” He wouldn’t look her in the face when he said it and she found herself looking at him with narrowed eyes when he turned back to the stove. 

Maybe she had nothing to worry about but the start of her and Ben’s relationship was not the most conventional. She had been working for his uncle when they met, and Ben had insisted on keeping their relationship a secret for two months. Finally, she had told him it was either he had to be honest about his relationship with her or be done. She was tired of feeling like a dirty secret. He had chosen to be honest and had disclosed their relationship to his family within an hour. 

When she came back downstairs Ben was pulling a lasagna out of the oven.

“How did you make this so quick?”

“Oh, I made the ingredients yesterday and brought them along. I just had to do the noodles and the layers.” He shrugged, while he sliced up a loaf of bread.

As they ate the wind picked up and the rain started battering at the windows. Ben looked at her concerned.

“Are you going to be ok?” He asked her. The last time it had stormed she had been unprepared for it and had a panic attack, this time she had at least had some time to prepare before it rolled in.

“I think so.” She had finished eating and set down her fork, unsure what to do with herself in a strange place.

“I can clean up later. Let’s go sit in the living room. I can start a fire, we can read a book, whatever you want.” Ben said, picking up the plates to put them in the sink. He took her hand and led her to a large sitting room. She sat on the oversized couch while he prepared a fire. 

Ben got a good flame going and sat on the couch next to her, gathering her up and covering up with a throw. She always felt safe with him in moments like this. That didn’t stop her from jumping when there was a loud clap of thunder. Ben just dropped a kiss in her hair and held her tighter. 

Rey did her best to focus on her surroundings, the fire in front of her, Ben wrapped around her, and before she knew it the storm was over. She had never told Ben why they bothered her so much, he just accepted it and did what was within his power to help.

He didn’t stop holding her when the storm was over, and she was finally able to relax.

“Tell me about summers here.” She asked him after a while.

“Well, we would come up for the month of August before school started. That way some of the apples would be ready to pick so I’d spend most of the day walking the orchard, climbing trees and eating too many apples. There’s a pond on the other end of the property that I would go swimming in. I would explore the more mysterious parts of the house, the attic, the basement, stuff like that. I was always looking for secret passageways, I was convinced the house held something mysterious.”

“Did you find it?” She could see it would be an easy thing to believe, even as an adult.

“No. I did get trapped in the dumbwaiter once though. I was trapped in there all day before anyone found me.” He huffed at the memory. “I never crawled into that to try to get go up and down stairs again, that’s for sure.”

She hummed at him rubbed his arm in reassurance.

They fell into comfortable silence.

“I love you, you know.” Ben said into her hair.

“I know, I love you, too.” He’d been telling her that he loved her since the first week, it took her until the 3rd month to say it back. Between him keeping her a secret from his family and her own abandonment issues it was a much harder thing for her to voice. But he never made her feel bad about it and the smile that broke across his face when she said it for the first time, unprovoked, told her that he really did mean it when he said it. 

That night they fell asleep, Rey draped over Bens chest, their legs a tangle, the storm and peculiar feel of the house fhe orgotten.

\--

The next morning, she got up early, she always struggled with sleeping in strange places. She woke up and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee. She knew Ben was usually more capable of sleeping in and didn’t want to disturb him. She was a known fidgeter. 

She really wanted to go walk around the orchard and she grabbed the blanket off the couch from the night before. She draped it around her shoulders and took her steaming cup of coffee. She was happy to find that Ben had made sure there was creamer here for her and went outside to walk. The grass was dewy and there was a low hanging mist that covered the grounds. 

It added to the feeling of eeriness she got from the place but pushed it aside. She had walked past the place they had made it to yesterday when she heard footsteps in the grass. The mist was thicker here than it was closer to the house. She looked around but didn’t see anyone.

“Ben?” She couldn’t help the waiver in her voice.

She got no response. She blamed it on animals in the trees, squirrels or rabbits. Officially spooked she made her way back toward the house at a brisk pace. She had turned the corner of one of the barn when she nearly walked into Ben. She startled and sloshed coffee everywhere nearly dropping the mug.

“Jesus, Ben!”

“Sorry.” He braced her shoulders to keep her from falling and she ended up spilling on him too.

“You scared the hell out of me. I need to put a bell on you.” She said as she tried to wipe the coffee off his bare arm. “I’m sorry did I burn you?” She asked, recollecting herself and concerned for him.

He looked down at his arm. “No, I barely noticed you got me. You okay?” He asked as he brushed some hair away from her face. She watched as he looked around them to try and figure out what had her so on edge.

“Yeah, it was just a bit foggy and I think your friendly neighborhood critters were trying to play some tricks on me. I’m fine.” She smiled reassuringly.

Ben turned around to go back to the house with her and draped his arm around her shoulders, placing a kiss on her temple. “Let’s go refill your coffee, huh?”

“Please.” She said, tucking in close.

The rest of the morning passed without incident. Ben made her a bagel to go with her coffee and she spent the rest of the morning reading on the porch swing. The sounds of the birds and crickets were a lovely background noise.

Ben was off puttering around with some things. He said he wanted to call the groundskeeper about some stuff he noticed around the house. Rey was more than happy to take the moment to have some time to herself.

Her attention was drawn away from what she was reading when she heard footsteps on the pavement. She looked up to see an older woman walk up the driveway.

“Oh, hi. Can I help you?” Rey called out. The woman turned and blinked at her, a cryptic smile crossing her features.

“Oh, you must be her.” The woman said to her. Rey was very confused. 

“I’m Rey.” She offered trying to figure out what was going on. The woman was elderly, 80 would have been Rey’s guess and wore thick glasses. She was very petite, too. She approached Rey at a bit of a shuffle and walked up the stairs and took her hand in hers.

“I’m so glad you’ll be joining us more.” The woman stated. Rey was beginning to think she had her confused with someone else.

“Oh, thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” Rey really didn’t know how to deal with this situation. She was saved by the squeak of the storm door.

“Maz, what are you doing here?” Ben asked as he stepped out onto the porch. The elderly woman, Maz turned her attention to Ben.

“Ben Solo!” She greeted him with a grin. “I just came to check on how you were doing. Your mother called me and I wanted to meet you-“

“Rey, yeah this is her.” Ben rushed out. “I’m so glad you could stop buy. If you need a ride back to your place, I know Chewie is around here somewhere.”

“Chewie, eh? He was always my favorite. I think I’ll take you up on that offer.” She patted his hand as he helped her down the stairs. 

“Congratulations.” She threw over her shoulder at Rey.

What was that supposed to mean?

When Ben came back, he looked nervous again and there was a blush to his cheeks.

“So, what’s her story?” Rey asked when he returned and sat down next to her, his elbows resting on his knees like he was a bit nervous.

“That’s Maz. She lives down the road a bit. She used to be my babysitter when we’d stay for the summer.” He did that funny thing where his lips formed a line.

“She seemed a bit… odd?”

“Nope, that’s just how she is. She used to tell me ghost stories and she had me convinced, for about 4 years, that she traveled with the circus telling fortunes.” Ben chuckled and rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “She even told me some of my own once.”

“What did she tell you?” He blushed again and shook his head.

“A story for another time.” He got up offering her his hands to tug her into standing.

“Let’s feed you, huh?” He suggested.

She grinned and nodded. He knew that food was an easy way to soothe her. Once he had that figured out he was very routine with scheduling their meals when they were together.

They kept busy the rest of the day, Ben giving her a tour of the parts of the house she hadn’t ventured to yet, including the infamous dumbwaiter. It was so small, that it was hard to imagine him fitting in there. It must have been terrible to be stuck in there, unsure if anyone would find you. She swallowed at the memory.

“How old were you?” She asked as they walked down the hall to go back downstairs.

“Oh, about 6, I think? I just know I still believed in Maz’s ghost stories at the time and kept waiting for some ghostly hand to come through the dark and grab me.”

“That had to have been terrifying.” She said.

“It was, it took me a long time to work out that claustrophobia, longer still to work out that fear of the dark.”

It made sense to her why Ben was so understanding of her fears, he had battled some of his own.

“I never told you about the thunderstorm thing.” He looked at her a little surprised.

“No, you don’t need to, unless you want to.”

“Do you want me to talk about stuff like that?” She asked, uncertain.

“Yes.” He said without hesitation. “But I understand that it’s your story and you should tell it when you’re ready.”

“No, I’m ready.” She said, a bit more confidently than she felt. He looked thoughtful for a moment before tugging her into the living room and laying with her on the couch. He had learned that she talked more freely when she didn’t have to look at him, so she was often the little spoon for big talks. It made her feel less vulnerable.

“When I was five my parents… disappeared.” He knew she grew up in the foster system, but she hadn’t shared with him how or why. “They left me home alone, I’m not sure for how long. The police reports suggested maybe 3 days, at the least. I don’t know.” She felt him squeeze her tighter. “I don’t really remember much, it was all a blur of eating cereal, cartoons and wondering when they were coming home. What I do remember is that there was a big storm. It was big enough that the power went out and that the tornado sirens went off.” Ben nuzzled into her hair. It was comforting, she felt protected, cared for. Maybe this was why she preferred to talk like this.

“I just remember being terrified and alone. I slept in the bathtub that night, hoping that they’d come back. They didn’t. Anyways, when I hadn’t shown up for school my teacher knew enough about my homelife to call for a welfare check. That’s where the police found me, holed up in the bathtub waiting for my parents. The storm had happened 2 days prior to them finding me and they thought it looked like I had spent most of my time in there.” It was something that was so far removed from her now that talking about it didn’t invoke big emotions. Some sadness, mostly numbness. However, she always carried her fear of abandonment and feelings of inadequacy with her wherever she went. 

She turned to Ben to look at him and his eyes were wet with unshed tears. He released her just enough so she could turn around in his arms, finally ready to face him. He kissed her forehead and tightened his hold around her when she was finally settled.

“You’re not alone anymore, never again.” He choked out. “Not if I can help it, I promise.” He pressed his lips to her temple as if to soothe himself that she was there with him, that she was whole. He then tucked her under his chin, and they laid there, Ben rubbing her back and allowing her to just be there.

After a time, Rey looked up at Ben and poked the dimple in his chin.

“Hey.” She said once she had his attention, she could feel her eyes prickle with tears. “You’re not alone either.” She said and kissed the spot she had just touched. He seemed to sigh in relief then, as if he had been waiting to hear that. 

“So, what’s on the agenda tonight Ben?” 

“Hmm. Well, it’s supposed to be nice and clear. Maybe star gazing?” He offered

“Ooo, that sounds romantic.” 

“Maybe, we could have a fire before it gets dark, roast some marshmallows.”

“And they say the perfect man doesn’t exist.” She said dreamily.

He chuckled at her.

“I think my qualities are very refined for wooing one girl in particular.” He said before kissing her nose.

After their dinner of leftovers, Rey walked around the orchard trying to find a couple of good sticks for their marshmallows. She grabbed an apple, too. Munching on it as she went. 

She was a bit distracted and lost in thought when she heard the snap of a twig and saw a figure behind her, she spun on her heel and whipped the apple at the person kneeling there, cast in the shadows of the trees.

“Ow!”

“Ben? Oh my god. Baby I’m so sorry.” She said to him as he tumbled flat on his back. She hovered over him checking his face.

“Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you, well, until I did hear you.” She kissed his face as gentle as possible, the low evening lighting amongst the trees making it hard to see any marks.

“Did you throw an apple at me?” He asked before laughing heartily at what had just happened. He wiped at his cheek with his sleeve trying to wipe off apple juice.

“Maybe.” She said sheepishly.

“You should pitch for the cubs with that arm.” He said fondly as he sat back up. She found it less funny now that he was making jokes, she went to get up, but he tugged her down to him.

“Don’t go, I love you. I’m sorry for startling you for the second time today. I swear this place has made you jumpy.” He looked concerned and brushed her hair out of her face.

She shrugged, he wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t want to insult his home.

“Sometimes it’s just me with new places.” She shrugged off. “You’re forgiven.” She said before getting up and offering him a hand. They gathered up the few sticks she had and abandoned her half ate and bruised apple. 

The fire was already going by the time they got back to the fire ring, so they ate their smores. Rey watching the hypnotic dance of the flames and embers. Ben had become quiet again only it was his nervous quiet where he was fidgety. Like he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.

“Is everything ok?” She asked, offering him an opportunity to talk about what was bothering him.

He looked at her like he got caught stealing out of the cookie jar and shook his head.

“Nah, just thinking about work stuff.” His eyes sliding to the fire. 

A lie, he didn’t care enough about his job for him to think about it when he wasn’t there.

She didn’t have much time to think about it before there was an eerie howl from the distance. She looked out into the dark as if whatever made the noic

“What was that?” Rey asked.

“Coyotes. They live in the woods. They’re normally pretty shy and don’t come around people much.” He said to her satisfaction.

As the fire died down, Ben poured water on it to put it out and then grabbed a stack of bedding he had brought out with them. They walked a little bit away from the buildings, Ben laid down a heavy quilt and threw down a couple of pillows before, sitting down himself. Rey followed suit and snuggled up next to him so he could drape another blanket over them. It was suddenly chilly without the fire. 

They watched the stars pointing out the constellations they knew. There were a few shooting stars that got their attention. They were brighter here, away from city lights and she couldn’t help but get a bit lost in them. She almost hated the idea of going inside. So, she nestled in and watched the night sky with Ben murmuring quietly about stars.

Soon she felt like she was floating, and it was a moment later when she realized that Ben was carrying her to the house.

“mmmf.” She mumbled sleepily, tapping him on the shoulder to let him know she could be put down.

“Shhh. Sweetheart I’ve got you.” He murmured back, pressing his lips to her forehead. 

She braced a hand on his shoulder, so she wasn’t total dead weight and snuggled into his broad chest.

“The stuff.” She said, a bit whinier than she would have liked to admit. As strong as Ben was, he just simply didn’t have enough hands and arms to grab the bedding.

“It can wait until tomorrow.” He assured her.

They were able to get into the house and Ben set her down on the sofa. He seemed to look at her a moment but then seemed to draw himself way.

“Let me go lock up.” He told her, disappearing from the way that they came.

“I’m going to get ready for bed.” Rey said, as she rubbed her eyes and made her way to the stairs.

Rey was in bed and asleep before Ben could crawl in next to her, she briefly remembered him pulling her into his arms and whispering how much he loved her before her world faded to black.

The next morning Rey was up early again.

She went down and started the coffee and decided on going to pick up their blankets while it brewed.

She had walked through the orchard, swearing that she had heard footsteps again but saw nothing. 

She was just bent over picking up their bedding when she heard a throat clear and she whipped around startled, hitting Ben square in the face the with pillow as he was knelt down behind her.

“Oh my god, Ben. It’s like you snuck up on me on purpose!” She said clutching her chest. He gave a halfhearted smile before looking deathly serious again. Was this the part where he murdered her and left her body up here or something?

Why was he so serious, kneeling and on the ground like that?

“Rey?” She was confused, she could see he was nervous. He pulled something out of the pocket of his pajama pants. 

“Ben?” What was he doing? 

“I know we haven’t been together very long,” he cleared his throat. “but I knew the moment I met you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Oh.

OH.

OH!

“Will you marry me?” He took what was in his hand, a little box, and opened it, revealing a small simple ring with a yellow stone in it.

She laughed a bit nervously before throwing her arms around him and peppering him with kisses. They collapsed on the heap of blankets and Rey couldn’t help laughing.

“Yes.” She beamed at him. She couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. “Is that why you’ve been so nervous all weekend?”

“You could tell?” He looked almost hurt by that.

“Yes, you were terribly fidgety last night, and there were several moments where I could tell you were lying.”

“Ah. Well, you’re a very difficult girl to propose to what with the storms, the hitting me in the face with an apple and falling asleep.”

“What?” She asked before giggling and burying her face in his chest in embarrassment.

“Ok, so I considered proposing Friday night, but it rained. It was my mother that called, asking if I had done it yet, not a telemarketer. But I thought me talking to my mother would be more suspicious to you.” She nodded, that made sense. “Then you hit me in the face with an apple, a bit of a mood killer.” 

“I’m sorry baby.” She kissed his face to make it better and he chuckled.

“Then I had actually gotten the words out last night and you were asleep.” He said a bit indignantly.

She kissed him on the mouth, taking her time to soothe him and pour her love into the kiss.

He pulled away, a serene look on his face.

“I had a speech and everything.” He said with a bit of a pout.

“Oh, no. You should tell it to me now.” She said, really wanting to hear it.

“Nope, I’ll save it for later, it was good though.”

Rey pouted.

“I’m sorry about hitting you in the face with the pillow.” She said softly kissing his chin.

“It’s ok, I really should learn not to sneak up on you.”

“Please tell me.” She pleaded. 

He pursed his lips and he shook his head, so she dug her fingers into his ribs to tickle him. It didn’t go as planned, he just flipped her over and tickled her back. Both of them were a panting mess of giggles before they called a truce.

“So, you really want to know?” He asked, a gleam in his eyes.

“Yes.”

“So, When I was about 10 Maz told me a story. She told me that there was a girl who was made for me, and she was waiting in the stars for me to come find her. She pointed out Cassiopeia and told me that I would see her in the girl I was meant to be with.” It was then that he brought a finger to her cheek and pointed out five freckles that bridged her nose, connecting both cheeks. 

Rey couldn’t help but blush and a stray tear fell from her cheek.

“So, when I saw you, and I saw these marks I knew you were supposed to be mine. Your beauty is unrivaled.” He beamed at her before she pulled him down for a kiss. 

As much as she had a new appreciation for Maz, she really didn’t want her coming to visit today. 


End file.
